sandra hope Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

Veteran writer John Ostrander, best known for his work on DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, will step in for Geoff Johns on May’s Aquaman #20, bringing with him artists Manuel Garcia and Sandra Hope, IGN.com reports. Johns and regular artists Paul Pelletier and Sean Parson will return with Issue 21.

“Those not familiar with John, he’s one of the comic greats — from Suicide Squad to The Spectre. Exciting to see him take on The Others,” Johns wrote on Twitter. “John has an excellent take on The Others, particularly The Operative, and he’ll be introducing a new member to the team.”

Even at 34 pages, the first issue of Flashpoint feels like it’s missing something.

This is not exactly a surprise. The very premise of Flashpoint is that lots of things are missing, including Superman, the Justice League, and a generally-peaceful world. Mainly, the world of Flashpoint is short on hope — and so is issue #1.

To be sure, while the story itself is fairly bleak, it’s told in compelling fashion by writer Geoff Johns, penciller Andy Kubert, inker Sandra Hope, and colorist Alex Sinclair. Barry Allen wakes up in a world that would have made George Bailey jump off that bridge without a second thought, and by the end of Flashpoint #1 he has little reason to think his old life will ever return. Nevertheless, under Geoff Johns, Barry has literally become an avatar of hope, unironically intoning the Blue Lantern motto “all will be well.” Never mind the reset button implied in most alternate-reality scenarios — by itself, Johns’ history with the character all but promises Barry’s ultimate triumph. If Flashpoint lives up to that promise, and subsequent issues have as much excitement as this first issue has nihilism, it could be one of the great big-event miniseries.

That’s a big “if,” though. The first issue necessarily comes with a good bit of exposition, and Flashpoint risks its readers being lost in a myriad of apocalyptic scenarios and changed characters. Flashpoint might also become nothing more than a framework for all those tie-in miniseries and one-shots. However, Johns wisely keeps the focus on Barry and just a couple of significant allies. Maintaining that focus is the key to this miniseries, and it’ll be the measure of Flashpoint’s success.